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Elementary Reader Autobiography. Dawn Watson C&I 449 Summer 2011. Read Aloud Memories.
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Elementary Reader Autobiography Dawn Watson C&I 449 Summer 2011
Read Aloud Memories • I was read to regularly as a child. My dad was not much of a reader for himself, except for the daily newspaper or magazines like Sports Illustrated, but he read to me every night before bed until he decided that I was old enough to read to myself. One of my favorite stories to share with him is pictured to the right.
Reading On My Own • I learned to read the summer before Kindergarten. I was motivated to learn because I attended a Montessori pre-school and I saw how much fun the “real” readers were having with their books. I have a vivid memory of sitting on my grandpa’s lap reading The Best Nest, building momentum and confidence with every page. This was the first book where everything came together and I started to view myself as a reader.
My Elementary School Library • I loved my elementary school library at Irving Elementary School in Bloomington. I thought my librarian was the luckiest person in the world because she got to stay in the library all day, every day instead of only going once a week. These photos are from their website (http://www.district87.org/irving/MediaCenter/LessonLinks.asp). It looks about the same, although I seem to remember more burnt orange in the color scheme! I’m sure those are the same tables I sat at 30 years ago. I remember how cool I thought it was that we had a stage in our library. I loved walking across the creaky wooden floor to find my spot for the read-aloud time.
Favorite Books/Series/Genres • I was an avid reader in elementary school. I loved books with mysteries or puzzles to solve. I also liked realistic fiction books – the Babysitters’ Club series debuted when I was in 6th grade and it was an instant favorite. My absolute favorites were historical fiction books and books that were written long enough ago to read like historical fiction. A few of my favorites are pictured at left - I tried to find the editions with the covers I remembered reading. I did not choose to read a lot of non-fiction books.
Positive and Negative Influences • There were many adults in my life who were a positive influence on me as a reader: • My aunt who started a new book every day at breakfast and made sure she finished it before she went to bed. • My grandma who always made sure I could order at least one book from the classroom book order. • My other grandma who couldn’t drive, but who was more than willing to walk with me or ride the bus with me to the public library each week during the summer reading program. • Teachers and librarians who put up with all of my pestering for new recommendations. • I was lucky that I had very few negative influences, but one example stands out: • My 4th grade teacher assigned a reading log and then didn’t believe that I read all of the books that I recorded. She asked me tons of questions to determine whether or not I had really read my books. I remember wishing that she would quit asking me questions so I could get back to my favorite activity – reading!!
Contacting an Author • As a kid, I read and loved so many different books that it was impossible to choose a favorite. In 6th grade we had to write a letter to an author of our choice. After a lot of deliberation I settled on Louise Fitzhugh, author of Harriet the Spy. I was crushed when I discovered that she was dead! Instead I wrote to Ann M. Martin of Babysitters’ Club fame. It turned out that my teacher knew her (she babysat for her kids, how ironic!) so I got a great response with a signed book, bookmarks, and other assorted goodies inside.
